admin | November 24, 2019
Like this week’s Farmer story from Senegal, our Script of the week focuses on innovative and effective methods of storing fruits and vegetables.
Small-scale African farmers produce a large percentage of their countries’ food supplies. But in many remote, rural areas of Ghana (and other countries), frequent power outages and lack of access to electricity can make post-harvest storage of vegetables and other produce incredibly challenging, especially given the country’s tropical climate. This means leftover produce is spoiled before it can be sold at the next market day, contributing to food waste and food insecurity, as well as loss of income.
This is why post-harvest storage technologies that do not rely on electricity are some of the most reliable and sustainable ways to improve the shelf life of vegetables and other produce in Ghana—and why they contribute to food security and better incomes.
This script examines the Zero Energy Cooling Chamber (ZECC), an ideal technology for small-scale farmers and remote rural communities.
You might want to present this script as part of your regular farming program, using voice actors to represent the characters called Host 1, Host 2, Farmer 1, and Farmer 2. If you wish to adapt the script to better suit your location and community, please use interviews with farmers and experts from your own community.
You could also use this script as research material or as inspiration for creating your own programming on post-harvest technologies and zero-energy solutions to storing produce in your own region or country.
How? By talking to experts who specialize in post-harvest technology, or to farmers who use eco-friendly technologies, perhaps even Zero Energy Cooling Chambers. You might ask them:
• What are the major post-harvest storage challenges in your area?
• What solutions have vegetable farmers and other experts found for these challenges?
• What are your experiences with zero-energy technologies?
• Have you used, adapted, or changed the ZECC in any way, perhaps by using custom-made bricks or local materials?
Estimated running time for this script is 20-25 minutes, including intro and outro.